Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Arielle]

Quote:
Do you remember what he looked like as a chick? Did he have any brownish chickdown on his head? Sometimes that much extra rust color is from the Db gene that inhibits melanin. He may have the proper melanizing genes, but the Db is holding them back. It's not a great gene to perpetuate in your flock. Often hens carry and don't express it, and pass it on to make more rusty roos.

I didn't pay much attention to them specifically; mostly excited to see the coloring coming in , thn worying and watching to see how the colors developed. Will pay attention to the chicks next time for clues.

Perhaps I will do a test breeding and look for the brown down.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Arielle]

How do you mark you eggs when pencil marks are all but invisible??

 

[Kansas Gal]

Had to share my 'BCM experience'! I got a dozen misc chicks from farm store last fall (now am breeding only purebreds). Among the chicks I bought, I got 4 black sex links. Of those, one of them looks exactly like a BCM and does lay dark brown eggs! I feel like I got a real 'bonus' there! I do love the rich chocolate color of those eggs!

 

[VillageChicken]

Quote:
Black Sharpie. I've heard some folks even use the silver or gold sharpie pens without a problem. I used to worry that the chemicals in the ink would somehow harm the developing embryo, but the ink dries so fast, when the embryo is just a couple of dividing cells.

 

[flgardengirl]

I use a silver colored pencil on the darkest eggs. I just feel safer using a pencil than a sharpie lol.

 

[flgardengirl]

Quote:
Do you remember what he looked like as a chick? Did he have any brownish chickdown on his head? Sometimes that much extra rust color is from the Db gene that inhibits melanin. He may have the proper melanizing genes, but the Db is holding them back. It's not a great gene to perpetuate in your flock. Often hens carry and don't express it, and pass it on to make more rusty roos.

I didn't pay much attention to them specifically; mostly excited to see the coloring coming in , thn worying and watching to see how the colors developed. Will pay attention to the chicks next time for clues.

Perhaps I will do a test breeding and look for the brown down.

Thanks for your input.

The few baby bcms that I have hatched that had brown spots on them always turned out way too red. I have heard some people say they molt out in thier lines but mine never have. Yes that one spot molts out but then they always end up with way too much coppering in the breast or somewhere else. Different lines are different, I guess.

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Black Sharpie. I've heard some folks even use the silver or gold sharpie pens without a problem. I used to worry that the chemicals in the ink would somehow harm the developing embryo, but the ink dries so fast, when the embryo is just a couple of dividing cells.

I use a sharpie.... black, red, blue, etc. the normal markers and have not had any embryo issues.

Gold and silver markers I would hesitate to use just because they seem to go on differently - - kind like paint - - more liquidly...

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Sometimes I use white or silver colored pencils like flgarden does and others I use crayola non toxic washable markers, but do not use the washable markers under a broody, it wears off, but is great in the incubator.

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
I have used white chalk. As stinky as those markers are, I just can't bring myself to use them.

 

[Arielle]

Thanks EVERYONE for all the super input on marker ideas!!!!

FlGardengirl--thanks for the detail on the brown chick feathering. Allows for an early sorting and culling for breeders in the males anyway.



A question for everyone---
Does this brown down also apply to the hens/pullet chicks?? Can they(hens) have too much? OR is it an issue in their male offspring?